[Vision2020] Minimum wage

[Shirley Ringo]

Visionaries:

I cannot resist the urge to weigh in on the minimum wage issue.  I proposed legislation during the most recent legislative session to raise the minimum wage to $6.15.  It received very little support from Republicans.  (Our District 6 Republicans did support it, and Representative Trail will co-sponsor the effort with us again next year.)

 

We plan to try again next year, at an amount above $6.15.

 

Without getting into the usual arguments, it's unacceptable to have a minimum wage that leaves those paid at that level in cruel poverty.  Lawmakers have neglected maintenance on minimum wage levels.  In 1968, the minimum wage meant something positive to families.  In inflation-adjusted dollars, it has lost nearly 40% of its value between 1968 and now.

 

According to polling, the vast majority of Americans believe the minimum wage should be higher.  I believe eighteen states have a minimum wage higher than the $5.15 federal level, which has not been raised since 1997.  Some of these states have used the initiative process to get results, where state legislators would not act on it.  In some of these states, there has been significant help from Republican leaders.

 

Many claims of negative consequences do not seem to be true.  One of the claims is that jobs will be lost.  In the majority of states that have raised the minimum wage, there has in fact been an increase in jobs.  (We can't claim the wage increase caused more jobs, but the decrease some predicted didn't happen.)  An increase in employee productivity and less absenteeism was reported where the pay level increased.

 

On the inflation issue, Florida reported after raising their minimum wage a very minor increase in some prices.  Since a relatively small percent of the employed receive minimum wage, one might not expect a dramatic increase in prices.  (We can expect a "ripple effect" though, where employers will raise wages to be more competitive.)  One year ago in Idaho, according to the Department of Commerce and Labor, 32,000 Idahoans received a wage between $5.15 and $6.15 per hour.  While Idaho State Government employee pay is entirely too low, almost none of them receive pay as low as $5.15 per hour.  I don't consider it an undisputed fact that there will be significant inflation, but we can certainly study the issue in the states that have raised the minimum wage. 

 

Workers who receive minimum wage live from paycheck to paycheck.  (If they can make it stretch.)  They have no discretionary money.  What are they to do when their taxes go up?  Just more water in the gravy, I guess.  At the minimum wage, it takes more than one full day to earn the money to buy fifteen gallons of gasoline. 

 

While I continue to study the issue, I am convinced that some of the negative consequences of raising the minimum wage are over-stated.  I am also steadfast in my belief that it is unacceptable to value people and families so little that we allow such a low level of compensation for their efforts and to address their needs. 

 

Shirley

 

 
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